On My Corner

One day last week as I was holding my “Secure Our Border” sign at the red light at Pondicherry Square, a lady lowered her window and asked: “Have you traveled overseas?”

A loaded question, for sure.

I answered, “Yes” as the light turned green and she sped off. I would have told her, if I had the chance, that in addition to living in seven states (Rhode Island, New Hampshire (twice), Maine (twice), Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, and Massachusetts), I have lived in two foreign countries — Turkey and Italy — and, through business, vacations, and other reasons, I have been to Israel, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Argentina, Canada, and, of course, Mexico.

And, to answer what her question and her tone were implying, I would say that, yes, I have seen the poverty and squalor around the world, none worse than the shanty towns of Buenos Aires and the dirt-poor town of Sinop, Turkey, where I was stationed for a year while in the U.S. Army.

Where our conversation would go after that I can only guess, but I suspect I would be admonished for not being more “welcoming” to migrants fleeing poverty, oppressive regimes, discrimination, etc.

My reply would be that we accept asylees, refugees, and many, many others fleeing bad situations, but I would also point out that the amount of fraud and abuse is overwhelming, and our systems are totally overloaded, and we have a chaotic situation on our hands that has to be brought under control, and President Trump is the only one trying to do that.

Which brings us to the current hysteria about children being separated from their parents. My question would be, where were all these protesters when we started receiving an influx of UACs (Unaccompanied Alien Children) coming across our border starting in 2012?

Jessica Vaughan, the policy director for The Center for Immigration Studies, testified to Congress that 125,306 of these UACs were apprehended coming across the border from 2012 to 2016. Where was the outrage then about children being housed without their parents, guardians, or escorts? Well, Obama was the president during this period, and his administration’s “catch and release” policy insured that they would be released into the country.

The issue is whether we are committed to stopping illegal alien entry at the border, which is what the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy is all about or, should we continue the “catch and release” policy that floods our country with illegal aliens who may, or may not, show up for their court appearances?

All this hysteria is about the ongoing attempt to discredit and “RESIST” what Trump is trying to do protect this nation, and his efforts to ensure that we remain a sovereign nation, and a Constitutional Republic based on a system of laws. There is absolutely no question that the forces behind the demonstrations want to bring down this country.

Let me give you an example that shows the dreadful consequences of not being able to secure our border.

Because of the influx of thousands of UACs surging to our border in 2014 in the McAllen, Texas sector, 200 Border Patrol agents were temporarily transferred from the Tucson (Arizona) Sector to McAllen to help with the processing of these alleged UACs. Later, I was talking to Tim Foley, the field director of Arizona Border Recon, the group I stay with on my trips to the border, and he told me because those Border Patrol agents went to Texas, leaving a big hole in their coverage of the border, there was an increase in the number of drugs being smuggled across the Arizona/Mexico border. Those drugs make their way north into our communities and contribute to our local drug problems. No question.

While these protesters in Pondicherry Square here in Bridgton may be sincere in what they are doing, they are sincerely, sincerely wrong and are adding to a protest movement that has given the impetus to politicians who, absurdly and unbelievably, are now demanding the abolition of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) calls these protesters “useful fools.”

To repeat, this is all about whether or not we continue as a Constitutional Republic based on a system of laws. We only have to look at what is happening in Europe and in California to see where it will end if we do not close the many “loopholes” that are preventing the Trump administration from securing our border and get support from Congress to add the personnel and infrastructure necessary to achieve that.